Umbra Tempest
by Maeve Trandal
Summary: One stormy day at the Xavier mansion a guest with a shadowy past stumbles onto the Institute's property. Takes place before X3.
1. Distraction's Discovery

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-men characters. I invented Andy and Brogan. Touch them and die.**

Heavy rain tumbled down upon the roof of the Xavier Institute. Thunder and lightening tormented the dark skies outside the school's windows. Inside a classroom of the school students sat trying to absorb something important from the lesson they were being taught. Some of the younger students were uneasy about the storm, but the majority of the students ignored it completely.

One learner's attention was devoted to the storm entirely. As he watched the rain splash against the window and the lightening roll across the sky he let his mind wonder into the unknown, not caring about anything his teacher was saying to the class. As the student continued to allow his mind to vegetate, a sudden movement outside the window caught the boy's attention and pulled him back to reality.

About forty yards away from the classroom window a very ragged looking woman was stumbling weakly across the school's property. Her muddy clothes were ripped and nearly hanging off her starved form. A crimson splotch of dried blood stained the hair line of her black hair. Numerous cuts and scratches covered her body, some of which were dripping fresh blood. The woman looked like she had been dragged down to hell and back.

A bolt of lightening flashed across the sky lighting up the gloomy yard of the institute. Mesmerized, the student watched as the fragile woman's rain soaked form collapsed onto the hard ground. Her body was completely limp. The student was in disbelief of the scene that had just unfolded before his eyes. He hoped that the woman wasn't dead, yet he wondered if that was even possible.

"Andy," came Hank McCoy's voice from the front of the classroom, startling the young student's eyes away from the window, "if there's something outside in that storm that's more important than the chemistry I'm teaching you at the moment would you please care to share it with the class?"

Andy faced Hank with a look of confused shock on his face. He simply pointed out the window and said, "There's a woman." Other students in the class stared at the boy as if he were retarded. A few quiet laughs circulated around the room.

"Settle down," McCoy advised the class. "Andy, even though I would recommend staying inside during a storm of this intensity, I'm sure the woman outside has quite a good reason for being there." Andy shook his head.

"No, Sir. Come look. She's fainted!"


	2. Uneasy Rest

The unconscious woman was quickly retrieved from the rain and rushed to the institute's hospital room. There she had been changed into dry clothes, carefully lain on the exam table, and hook up to a vital signs monitor. Jean Grey performed a quick medical examination on the woman and easily determined that, besides the minor scratches across her body, she was suffering from exhaustion and dehydration. Jean proceeded to insert an IV into the woman's arm, and then left the room so that the fatigued woman could sleep.

For awhile the woman slept peacefully, but as her rain chilled body began to warm her mind began to stir. Haunting images floated behind closed eyelids. Shadowy figures and frightening machines shifted though the sands of her memories. But most potent of all was a sense of intrusion and infringement upon her very essence.

Upstairs, Professor Charles Xavier sat in his wheelchair pleasantly reading a book. Dinner was soon to be served and Charles wanted to finish the book before heading to eat. Being a fast reader and very near the end of the book this goal would be no trouble for Charles to accomplish. But as Charles turned yet another finished page a sudden mental scream flooded his mind. The telepathic shriek was painfully sharp and Charles' hand shot up to his throbbing head. Because of his own very strong telepathic abilities, Charles immediately knew who the scream had originated from, and as soon as it had ended he rushed off to the institute's hospital.

The scene that greeted the professor in the hospital room was that of Jean Grey trying to hold down the flailing form of the unconscious woman that had been rescued from the school's yard earlier that afternoon. When the opportune moment presented itself, Jean used her telekinesis to strap the stranger to the exam bed. Momentarily contained, the woman's body continued to thrash under the restraints. As she pushed a loose strand of fiery red hair behind her ear, Jean turned and looked at the Professor.

"Professor, I was just upstairs helping get dinner ready and all of a sudden this really loud shriek went off inside my head. I rushed down here as fast as I could and found her thrashing about like this. Her heart beat is above normal and my best guess is that she's having a nightmare, a really bad one by the looks of it." The Professor wheeled his wheel chair over to the side of the exam table opposite of Jean.

"Don't worry Jean. I'll take a look," he said smiling warmly at Jean. Carefully, with out touching her, Charles placed his hands on either side of the moving woman's head and closed his eyes, reaching into the depths of her mind.


End file.
